While leading Catholic faithful in a thanksgiving mass at Cardinal Otunga High School, Mosocho last week, Bishop Mairura criticized opposition leaders for their recent visits to the United States and defend President William Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza administration while harshly rebuking the opposition.
“My fellow Christians, let me ask you, do we have a president in Kenya? Is he there or not? He is, isn’t he? That’s the man you voted for, and we recognize him. If you don’t, go to America—but don’t say we sent you. Who sent those people to go speak in America?” Bishop Mairura asked.
Some Kenyans angered by his remarks jeered him online, accusing him of taking sides politically. Others claimed he praised President Ruto to curry favor with him.
Following a week of online attacks, Bishop Mairura publicly addressed the issue on Sunday while presiding over the consecration of a new church in Nyamache.
He admitted he had lost sleep for three days over the insults and mockery he faced online:
“As you can see, I’m not walking well. I have no strength because I was broken and crushed online. Since my last remarks, I’ve gone three days without sleep because of insults from strangers.
I tried to ignore it but it was too much, and I had to sit down and ask myself what was really happening. This is very bad. I didn’t intend to offend anyone when I spoke about people going to America—they are free to do so. But my remarks were taken out of context and misunderstood. I did not insult our sons and daughters abroad,” he said.
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